Bayram BLTs in Belgrade Forest in Istanbul

Before we returned to our home in Beşiktaş, we spent an afternoon trekking through Belgrade Forest with our friends' friendly dog.

Hubby had last Thursday (August 30) off from work since it was a holiday - Zafer Bayramı. This holiday, also known as Victory Day, commemorates the victory in the Battle of Dumlupınar, one of the final battles and the most decisive one in the 1922 Turkish War of Independence.

We decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and get some exercise in the beautiful Belgrade Forest. I think it's been over a year since we've been to the forest, according to my last blog post.

Belgrade Forest, with it's lush green landscape, seems like a thousand miles away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul.

Belgrade Forest is difficult to reach without your own car. And even then, the weekend Istanbul traffic is usually horrendous, so we rarely drive, which is why we haven't been in a long time. 

But if you do make the effort, you will be rewarded with a pleasant walk around a large lake that used to supply water to Sultanahmet and the surrounding old areas of Istanbul. The 6-1/2 kilometer trail has even been updated - no more potholes!

Apparently, the new trail was sponsored by Firatpen, a local building company, as seen by this sign.

Jason took the dog for a stroll near the lake. For such a big dog, she was scared of the water.

After we walked about halfway around the lake, we found a cozy nook for a picnic lunch that I had packed. I've been craving BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) sandwiches because the Turkish tomatoes have been incredibly delicious this summer. BLTs are such an American part of summer.

But I was missing one key ingredient - bacon! 

My freezer stash of my beloved pork is quite low so I made a pit stop at a Macro Center - Istanbul's version of a Whole Foods. I plunked down 12.50 tl  (almost $7 USD) for a measly 125 gram-package of Greek bacon. This is how badly I wanted a BLT!

As you can see, we enjoyed our BLTs with a light sauvignon blanc Turkish wine.
BTW, we assume drinking in the forest is frowned upon so we kept the bottle of wine
stashed in our backpack.

Actually, our BLT's were more like BRTs with Turkish roka (arugula) making a great substitute for lettuce. The sandwiches were a welcome summer treat!

We enjoyed the natural landscape of the forest and the fresh air for 3 hours or so before we headed back to the city. This was definitely a good way to spend the bayram together!

Belgrade Forest can be reached by public buses heading to Bahçeköy, such as 42T from Taksim and 153 from Sariyer. After the last bus stop, it's a short walk to the forest's entrance.

You'll even find some pretty wildflowers around the lake in Belgrade Forest.

This tree mushroom was hard as a rock, but I thought it would make a cool photo.

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Let Spring In

This weather puts a bounce in my step and makes me happy.

The sun is shining. There’s a slight breeze outside. Temperatures have climbed to the mid-50s. Bits of color are popping up amidst the fallen leaves and brown grass.

Fuschia-colored primroses seen in the Belgrade Forest.

Yesterday, I noticed a nearby pet store was selling little bunnies and even a fuzzy, yellow duck. I squealed with delight. My husband saw that look in my eyes and told me no, but said the duck sure would be tasty in a few months! Thanks hon!

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked around Beşiktaş. We stopped at our favorite watering hole and enjoyed some late afternoon beers while playing a few rounds of tavla (backgammon).

Earlier in the day, we drove out to Belgrade Forest. (Apparently, everyone else had the same idea too.) Despite the number of people, the forest generally is a welcome respite from the city’s crowds and traffic. We just enjoy being outside and walking among nature for awhile.

As you are driving to the forest, one of the most impressive sites you see is the remains of Roman aqueducts built circa 1500s.  This stretch of the aqueduct system straddles a busy section of roads just outside the forest. I was trying to research what the name of this one was called, but alas I am still unsure. The aqueducts provided the growing city of Istanbul with fresh water for hundreds of years.

Remains of the ancient water system abound in the forest as well.

It looks like we definitely have some more exploring to do in this area.

The forest is still blanketed in dead leaves and varying shades of brown. However, I was happy to find colorful wildflowers in many sections of the forest. Spring should be here soon!

Toward the end of the trail, you even discover a Sağlık Çeşmesi (fountain of health) that presumably is full of clean spring water. However, we were not willing to bet how strong our stomachs were.

Although the main trail provides a well-paved path around the forest, next time I’d like to explore more off the beaten path. This means we actually need to set an alarm clock on the weekend so we can arrive before the crowds of people do. We’ll see!

I had to climb over part of a barbed-wire fence to take a photo of this
dilapidated house in the forest.

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Autumnal Afternoon Spent in Belgrade Forest

The afternoon air filled with wisps of campfire smoke. Three generations of family members sat around a fire grilling their traditional kebaps, long, green peppers and tomatoes.

Across the lake, a lone man was throwing a fishing line – sans pole - into the water, hoping to catch something for dinner.

The forest’s wide trail was surrounded by a kaleidoscope of colors turning from leaf green to various shades of my kitchen spices such as cinnamon, ginger, paprika, saffron and turmeric.

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to get out of the hectic city and drive to Belgrade Forest, located in Sarıyer, the northernmost district of Istanbul.

As much as I love living in a big city, sometimes you just want to escape from it all. You want to be away from the endless traffic, the honking horns, people yelling, the busy storefronts and cafes. You want a little slice of solitude. That is difficult to find when you live in a city of 13 million to 17 million, depending on which statistics you read.

The forest, covering almost 5,500 hectares, stretches out around Bahçeköy just inland from Büyükdere. According to an article in Time Out Istanbul:

“It takes its rather unlikely name from the fact that back in the 16th century it was resettled with Serbians after Süleyman the Magnificent occupied their country in 1521 and decided that they would make the perfect supervisors for the network of forest aqueducts and reservoirs on which Istanbul depended for its water supply. 

The small village actually called Belgrade became a fashionable escape from the high heat of summer in the 18th century, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was just one of the foreigners who took refuge there. She went on to wax lyrical about its beauties in her letters home. It “perfectly answers the description of the Elysian Fields,” she wrote, little imagining that one day the village would be no more.”

Although it took us an hour to travel from our apartment to the forest, we were rewarded with a beautiful Indian summer afternoon. We decided to walk on the 6 kilometer (about 3.72 miles) trail that wanders through the forest and around a large lake in the middle. The forest was busier than I had imagined. I guess other families had the same idea we did.

About the halfway mark, we decided to find a grassy knoll and enjoy our goodies we had in our backpack. I had packed two kinds of cheese, sesame seed crackers, a bit of Italian salami, a ripe plum and a bottle of Angora, a local dry, white wine. Sipping Turkish wine out of a backpack because we're classy like that!

This was nothing like our previous hiking experience in Cappadocia. No way! We just were enjoying each other’s company and the splendid afternoon and relaxing.

We are quite fortunate we don’t have to travel too far to enjoy the beauty of nature. The Belgrade Forest is just on our doorstep.

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